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»The Top 30 Albums of 2010 - Fashionably, fabulously late, our favorite music (and believe me, there was a LOT) of 2010, the year that some have called the best year for music ever. And only some of those fools work here. Plenty of usual suspects, lots of ties and a few surprises that I won't spoil, including our unexpected #1.

In what is quite possibly my favorite Liz Phair song, "Stratford-On-Guy", she sings, "It took an hour/maybe a day/and once I really listened the noise/just went away." Ivy's In the Clear captures many of the same feelings: while not so much nihilistic as it is nebulous and light, it travels the same detached airspace as Phair, but without any of the turbulence.

While nice enough, it is a passable, ultimately discountable affair made of cotton, gauze and other piffle. While it does sound fittingly jet-setting (especially due to the band's international roots), it also instills the restless boredom of long flights. One gets the feeling there's nothing to do but look out the window - and while the stars in the night sky are at once inspiring, staring for an excess of hours with nothing to contemplate (and somewhere more interesting to go) can make any traveler antsy.

Tedium aside, In the Clear is a fine album, in keeping with Ivy's adorable catalog, but lacks spark. Their covers EP, Guestroom, is far more essential listening, as there are very few invigorating pop songs here. Everything goes smoothly on In the Clear, with no real highs or lows, so to speak, and as such it unrolls without much fanfare or energy. Even the pluckiest pop songs provided - "Corners of Your Mind", "Tess Don't Tell" and "Thinking About You" - fail to match their earlier, more spirited offerings like "The Best Thing" or "This is the Day".

In the Clear feels less evocative, as well, as tracks like "I've Got You Memorized" and the awkwardly ironic "Keep Moving" have elements of Blondie-style disco that could be drenched in intrigue but fail to register inertia. While the trip only takes a mere 38 minutes, it feels a lot longer because you're sitting still. And, while the voyage is entirely pleasant, the flight is certainly not the destination.

Reviewed by Sarah PetersA former music editor and staff writer for LAS, Sarah Peters recently disappeared. Perhaps one day she will surface again, who knows.

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